Janet

Can I borrow him please? Janet

No - Gaussian Blur is beyond me! It's simply a bit of fun with a tilt shift program. Janet

Chocolate covered silverskin onions! Honestly! I used to go to a line dancing class, and we always had chocolates and nibbles on our table. One of the guys was notorious for nicking the maltesers, so we decided to teach him a lesson. It didn't quite work the way we intended - they were actually quite delicious and we had orders to make more! Ken, I always put dark chocolate in chilli since I was told about it - sounds strange, but works very well. Janet

That just defies description....!! Janet

Naughty boy....

A WOMENS POEM: Before I lay me down to sleep, I pray for a man who's not a creep, One who's handsome, smart and strong. One who loves to listen long, One who thinks before he speaks, One who'll call, not wait for weeks. I pray he's rich and self-employed, And when I spend, won't be annoyed. Pull out my chair and hold my hand. Massage my feet and help me stand... Oh send a king to make me queen. A man who loves to cook and clean.. I pray this man will love no other. And relish visits with my mother... A MANS POEM: I pray for a deaf-mute gymnast nymphomaniac with big breasts, who owns a bar on a golf course, and loves to send me fishing and drinking . This doesn't rhyme and I don't give a ****. A CHILD'S PRAYER.... Dear God. Please send clothes for all those poor ladies in Dad's computer.

Pah! Why did I choose to go on a month long narrowboat holiday on the Thames in the close season? Still, I have a lot of canals to go through before we get there, so at least I'll still get some fishing in! Hope everyone has a good last weekend, and I look forward to the reports. Janet

Gozzer will be SO pleased with the gift voucher I sent him today! Camo.... Mind you, I don't think he really has the legs for it, but each to their own... Janet

Thank you John. I'm chuffed to bits to win, but I agree, it would have been better to have had rather more entries. It really was a disappointing turnout this month. Where the heck is everybody these days? I have to give much of the credit and a huge, huge, massive thank you to Steve for his photography course on Focal Planet. I firmly believe that I wouldn't have got this shot without the confidence and the knowledge I've acquired over the last few weeks. It was taken after three long weeks of using manual only...no cropping and no PP allowed - it's been a huge learning curve for me... ...and you know what? I'm still on fully manual settings on my camera! I think I've used the auto setting only three or four times since, purely for comparison purposes against my manual setting choices. At last I'm beginning to feel really comfortable with my camera. I still have to think a lot, and take my time to get it right, but it's getting quicker and more intuitive as I go along. I haven't had the slightest inclination to switch back to auto. I do use AP a bit, but nine times out of ten it's manual. At last, I'm getting there! Janet

PM me your exact location and we'll check out the route plan and let you know when we're going to be in your area. Sounds like fun! Janet

We're heading south from Stone, then back up again - hoping to arrive back exactly four weeks later so as not to incur any charges from the hire boat company! However, with a whole month, perhaps we can take the boat up a disused arm somewhere, give it a quick respray and hope that they don't notice that we don't return it? There may well be a few reports along the way, as we've bought ourselves a laptop and a wireless doodah for the trip. However, if the Guinness beckons, the laptop will remain in the case and I'll update you all with a marathon post when I get back! I'm currently working on setting up a blog on another site, which I hope to update as we go along. I don't think I could cope with a narrowboat blog and an angling blog all at the same time! Janet

Well, the time is nearly here... On Saturday 1st May I'm heading off for a whole month on a narrowboat, cruising from Stone in Staffordshire, down to London and the Thames and back via the Oxford Canal and wherever else takes our fancy. I think the Falkirk Wheel is a bit far, but you never know with us! Obviously I'm hoping to fish along the way Because we're likely to be on a very tight schedule, fishing will mostly be restricted to a couple of hours in the morning before my OCM wakes up, and an hour or two in the evenings whilst he's on galley slave duties...he knows his place! I may have the odd day when I can spend longer in one spot, but it's highly unlikely as we intend to push the cruising to the max on this trip. It took a lot of organising, and I can't see our respective employers allowing us this length of time off again so we are going to make the most of it! Obviously I'll have my rod licence, but how do I go on about fishing all the different canals and waterways on our travels? We did the Staffs & Worcs and Grand Union recently, and it seemed like I needed a different ticket every few miles due to different stretches being controlled by different clubs. MK and Luton clubs were great, and I just paid on the bank, but there were many stretches where it wasn't clear who controlled it. I know I could probably wing it and it's unlikely that I'd be challenged, but if I could sort out something in advance I'd feel a lot happier. Does anyone have any information on clubs along the way? Info on particularly good fishing spots would be good too! My aim, even with limited fishing time is to land a 3lb perch this trip, and from what I've seen, it's a distinct possibility once we get nearer to the Thames. I'm happy with whatever chooses to take my bait, but a big stripey would just make the trip for me! Janet

Please provide your full address etc so I can send you the bill for a new keyboard! Janet

You're not so far off the mark with that comment John! I actually had someone comment that they thought it was overprocessed, and didn't look quite real.... They thought it was a real fisherman! It's actually a statue in the middle of a small lake in Lowther Gardens in Lytham St Annes, and there's been no PP done to it apart from editing out a lamppost in the background. Very envious of your forthcoming trip...I hope you're going to keep us entertained again? Janet

Aw shucks....you've just shattered my illusions! Janet

Is that a description of Budgie? Janet

Don't go there Budgie...that's asking for trouble! Janet

What about some more feminine names for us female anglers? I use a Shimano Beastmaster float rod, which thankfully has quite discreet lettering. However, one of my rod bags is in vivid yellow with "Beastmaster" emblazoned all over it. As for BCSD, you should come up to our club lake sometime! Janet

Excellent! Janet

Sorry guys...I've only just got back after a few days away. Everybody sorted now? Janet

I see we've had another few entries, but it is still far below our usual numbers, although the standard is good as always. Just another quick reminder, there are a few days left to submit your entries before the comp closes and opens for voting. Come on guys! You know it makes sense... Janet

Sorry I can't help Mr M, but can I just say thanks for posting that? I thought it would be a quick click, but instead I've watched the whole of it. Very evocative of my childhood. My dad was an electrician down the mines in Lancashire in the early sixties....Copy Pit, just outside Burnley. That film brought memories flooding back, including stuff that I didn't even know I remembered until I saw it. Cheers. Janet

I don't have anything planned, except to try and persevere with manual settings and stop relying on the camera to do it all for me. I'm going away for a month in May on a narrowboat trip down from the Midlands to London and back....hope to be able to get the best of it with the knowledge I've learned over the past few weeks from Steve's photography course. I will have some fabulous photo opportunites as we cruise through the centre of London and beyond...I can't afford to get it wrong, as I won't have the chance to go back for a reshoot! It took us ages to negotiate a full month off work....I can't afford to stuff it up! Janet